Successful Promotion Event for Hydrogen Energy Industry Development in Kaiping City to Accelerate Commercialization in the Greater Bay Area

On April 17-18, Kaiping City successfully held an investment promotion event for the hydrogen energy industry. The theme of this event was “Accelerating the Development of New Productive Forces and Building a Modern Industrial System.” It brought together experts, scholars, and representatives from the hydrogen energy sector from across the nation to discuss trends in hydrogen energy development, technological innovations, and application scenarios, thereby injecting strong momentum into the commercialization and large-scale development of the hydrogen energy industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

On the morning of April 18, the Kaiping City Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Investment Promotion Conference took place at the Tanjiang Peninsula Hotel. Attendees included Yu Zhonghua, Member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangmen Municipal People’s Congress, Researcher Gong Linghui from the Institute of Process Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Zhen, Executive Director of the Low Carbon Integration Development Research Institute, Chen Xiaoman, Deputy Secretary of the Kaiping Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, Guan Yaodong, Secretary of the Kaiping Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and various experts and representatives from nearly a hundred hydrogen energy companies from across the country.

During the conference, speeches were delivered by Yu Zhonghua and Chen Xiaoman, who introduced the local economic and social development and expressed strong support for the hydrogen energy industry. They extended a sincere invitation to hydrogen energy enterprises to invest in Kaiping and share in the development benefits. Yu Zhonghua remarked, “Currently, Jiangmen has excellent development opportunities. With the completion of major transportation infrastructure such as the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link and the Huangmaohai Cross-Sea Channel, Jiangmen is now just an hour away from the core circle of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao, highlighting our geographical advantages. We warmly invite entrepreneurs and investors to come to Kaiping and Jiangmen, to understand our cities, and to share in development opportunities and benefits. Let us take this promotion conference as an opportunity to jointly create a hub for the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area and contribute our wisdom and strength to the national ‘dual carbon’ strategy.”

Chen Xiaoman stated, “Kaiping places great importance on attracting hydrogen energy companies. We hope to draw in upstream and downstream enterprises related to hydrogen energy equipment materials, key components, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen fuel cells, promoting innovative application demonstrations of hydrogen energy in various sectors such as transportation, energy, industry, and construction. We sincerely invite everyone to visit Kaiping more often, to feel the pulse of development here, and to seek cooperation opportunities for mutual benefits.”

At the conference, the “Kaiping Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Plan” and the “Implementation Plan for the Development of the Sanbu Hydrogen Energy Equipment Intelligent Manufacturing and Innovation Application Demonstration Base” were announced. These two plans integrate into the new development framework, focusing on forward-looking planning and policy guidance, and aim to establish Kaiping as a new emerging city with hydrogen energy characteristics in the Greater Bay Area, outlining a blueprint and implementation path for accelerating the development of the hydrogen energy industry and building a modern industrial system.

In March 2024, the government work report explicitly stated the need to accelerate the development of cutting-edge emerging hydrogen energy industries. Hydrogen energy, recognized as a new productive force, has garnered significant attention from the state, presenting unprecedented development opportunities for the hydrogen energy sector. Kaiping City is strategically located at a key node of the West Guangdong Hydrogen Corridor, boasting a solid industrial foundation and rich application scenarios for hydrogen energy, making it well-suited for the development of the hydrogen energy industry.

In recent years, Kaiping has prioritized the development of the hydrogen energy sector as a key component of its modern industrial system. The city has actively planned and positioned itself in the hydrogen energy race, attracting leading industry unicorn, Zhongke Fuhai, which has invested over 1.5 billion yuan to establish a nationally leading low-temperature storage and transportation equipment manufacturing base. This project has led to the planning of approximately 25,000 acres for the Sanbu Hydrogen Energy Equipment Intelligent Manufacturing and Innovation Application Demonstration Base, creating a unique hydrogen energy industrial chain centered around hydrogen storage and transportation while extending upstream to hydrogen production and downstream to hydrogen utilization.

At the conference, Wang Xin, Vice President of Zhongke Fuhai Technology Co., Ltd., spoke about the construction of the Zhongke Fuhai project and the group’s development plans. He expressed a commitment to expedite the project, aiming for the first phase to be completed and put into operation within the year. He also emphasized leveraging the company’s technological and resource advantages to attract more upstream and downstream hydrogen energy enterprises and talent to settle and develop in Kaiping.

To further promote the development of the hydrogen energy industry in Kaiping, a special guest interview session was arranged during the conference. Experts including Gong Linghui, Zhang Zhen, Cai Dequan, Bao Wei, and Zhou Ning engaged in in-depth and fruitful discussions on the topic of “Accelerating the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry in Kaiping and Promoting the Construction of a Modern Industrial System.” They outlined pathways and broad prospects for developing the hydrogen energy industry in county-level regions represented by Kaiping, offering valuable insights for the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry in Guangdong’s “Hundred-Thousand Project” and the Greater Bay Area.

Kaiping’s favorable business environment and immense development potential have attracted the attention of many investors. The conference also featured the signing ceremony for five hydrogen energy industry projects, which included the Kaiping Hydrogen Source Guarantee Project, the Kaiping Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Promotion Project, the Kaiping Hydrogen Energy Cold Chain Logistics Promotion Project, the Kaiping Renewable Energy Hydrogen Production Project, and the Kaiping Wind Power Hydrogen Production Integration Station Construction Project. Through industrial clustering and in-depth cooperation, the development of Kaiping’s hydrogen energy industry has gained new momentum.

For many years, the Greater Bay Area has made significant progress in hydrogen energy technology research and development, industrial layout, and demonstration applications. Hydrogen energy technology has matured and is approaching a key node for large-scale application. However, challenges remain, such as high hydrogen prices, insufficient infrastructure for hydrogen refueling stations, and the need for breakthroughs in hydrogen storage and transportation technology. To further promote the development of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area, 68 companies, including Guangdong Kaiyuan Hydrogen Energy Industry Investment Co., Ltd., jointly released the “Kaiping Initiative,” calling for the industry to work together to accelerate the commercialization and large-scale application of the hydrogen energy industry, breaking through development bottlenecks and building a green, low-carbon, and sustainable hydrogen energy industrial ecosystem.

Looking ahead, Kaiping City plans to follow a hydrogen energy industry development strategy of “one core, two belts, and multiple scenarios,” deeply exploring hydrogen energy resources, developing application scenarios, and manufacturing hydrogen energy equipment. The city aims to create a “specialized industrial cluster for storage and transportation equipment,” establish a “key node for green transportation and logistics,” and develop an “international hydrogen energy industry exchange platform,” all while striving to build a high-standard pilot demonstration city for carbon peak and carbon neutrality in Guangdong Province.